CES 2013 was shaping up to the the year of 3D printing with 8 major exhibitors showing of 3D printers, 3D printing marketplaces, and more. We visited the booths, heard the announcements, and talked to the teams. Here is our recap.

MakerBot Has Several Major Announcements

Last year, MakerBot won Best of CES 2012 in the Emerging Tech category. We think MakerBot deserves an award this year again for the biggest announcements. In our exclusive footage of Bre Pettis, the MakerBot CEO revealed the new MakerBot Replicator 2X “experimental” 3D printer, announced changes to the Thingiverse API, and talked about the plans for “bot farms.”

3D Systems Wins Best Emerging Tech with New Cubify 3D Printer

This year they pulled the sheets off of not one, but two machines: Their updated Cube 2, a faster and more accurate update to the original, and their larger CubeX, which can print “basketball size” (10.75″ x 10.75″ x 9.5″) in both ABS and PLA.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens this week in Las Vegas. This year will include over 20,000 products from more than 3,000 exhibitors.

CBS News highlighted 3D printing as one of the key trends at CES this year, along with Ultra HD and mobile computing.

MarketBot, 3D Systems Corp and Sculpteo are among a handful of companies that make 3D printers that will be showing off new products at CES 2013, Scientific American reports. As home 3D printers become more affordable, the community of enthusiasts also continues to grow. Cracking the mass consumer market may be the next step for manufacturers of 3D printers.

“The consumer space is a key market for 3D and small steps have been made in this space via hobbyists and model makers in arts and craft projects and self-employed designers,” Accenture senior executive Kumu Puri writes in a blog post for Forbes.

Here is our list of the top exhibitors showing their latest developments in 3D printing.

3D Systems

Since 1986 3D Systems has transformed entire industries with powerful 3D content-to-print tools. The company intends to democratize access to affordable 3D content-to-print solutions for professionals and consumers. Launched last year at CES, Cubify is 3D System’s consumer zone (www.cubify.com).

Afinia

Afinia will be showing it’s award winning 3D printer, and full line of ABS filament. Our H series 3D printer was voted “Best Overall Experience” in the recent make magazine 3D printer shootout. Live 3D printing demonstrations will be held continuously during the day.

Delta Micro Factory Corp.

Formlabs

The Form 1 is the first truly high-resolution, low-cost desktop 3D printer, achieving professional quality at a price individual designers and engineers can afford. Our technology fills the gap between low-quality hobbyist machines and high-end printers that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Kraftwurx

Kraftwurx is the worlds original platform for 3D printing in the cloud. Showcase, buy, sell and create virtually anything you can imagine in 70 materials and worldwide shipping. Based in Houston, TX, our mission is to empower everyone for custom-made goods and empower manufacturing to deliver it.

Makerbot Industries

MakerBot® is a global leader in desktop 3D printing with engineers, entrepreneurs, and people who just like to make things. Honored as Popular Mechanics “Overall Winner” for best 3D printer, Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2012, and Fast Company 2012 Innovation by Design Awardee.

Sculpteo

Sculpteo offers a fully online 3D printing service – from the upload of your 3D model to the final object – designed to make this new technology easy and accessible to all. In addition to affiliates, Sculpteo, has its own 3D printing facilities in France for R&D purpose.

Stratasys, Ltd.

Stratasys is a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems for prototyping and manufacturing applications, recently merging with Objet to create leader in 3D printing and direct digital manufacturing.

Afinia, a division of Microboards Technology LLC, a leader in specialized printing solutions for 3D printing and rapid prototyping has officially launched its H-Series 3D Printer. The Afinia H-Series 3D Printer provides a true “Out of the Box 3D Printing Experience” as the 3D Printer comes fully assembled, with easy to install software for both the PC and Mac. The printer is both portable and affordable at a low cost of $1499. The Afinia H-Series can prototype a part or model that is up to 5 inches cubed in dimension.

The custom designed 3D Printing Software features an easy-to-use interface for laying out, orienting, duplicating, and scaling your designs. Simply use the included utility to calibrate the printhead height, and within minutes you are printing. The software imports .stl files, and allows the output to be customized in terms of the amount of support material and “raft” (base support) printed. Breakaway support material created in the printing process is simple to remove, and tools for aiding the breakaway are included. Design files can be created using a variety of online softwares, professional software packages such as SolidWorks ™, or by downloading from the extensive online community for free.

The Afinia H-Series 3D printer uses inexpensive, high-quality plastic filament offered in a wide array of colors including: natural (white), black, red, yellow, glow blue and glow green. The portable H-Series 3D Printer weighs less than 11lbs making it easy to transport. Additionally, the H-Series can print in a standalone mode. Simply choose your .stl file, printing parameters, and hit print. You will then be free to disconnect your computer from the printer at any time.